Strangers on a Train

The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

Bound for Delhi from Agra

Me, turning to the woman in the seat across the aisle: "I'm sorry that I don't speak Dutch, but would you like some walnuts?"

"I'm Swiss."

"Oh! I'm sorry. I thought that because of the CH sound --"

"Yes, we have the CH sound, too."

"I speak Hebrew, which also has a CH sound."

Anyhow, she doesn't want any walnuts, and I turn back to the package and scoop them into my yogurt sheepishly.

Pat returns from the bathroom and then I find a hair-ball in the walnut-package; Pat tries to soothe me that it must just be felt from the conveyer belt in the walnut factory, and then, sternly, "Sarah, rally!"

Very quietly, I tell Pat about the ignorant interchange I've just had, and Pat says, "When you said, 'I don't speak Dutch,' she should have said, 'Neither do I!'"

We burst into laughter. I don't want the women -- her friend has also now returned from the bathroom -- to think that we're laughing at them and so I turn to her with all the humility my face can express and tell her Pat's quip. She laughs and then explains what happened to her friend, who smiles.

I say, "I'm so embarrassed. I was trying to be sophisticated."

"I'm sure you are sophisticated, says the friend generously.

"Yeah, somewhere," chimes in Pat and we laugh some more.

"We're not the sort of Americans," I need to tell them, "who think it's fine that everyone speaks English."

"You wouldn't be travelling if you were," says the friend.